The History Of Immigration In The USA

The changing dynamics of the American population stems from waves of immigration throughout history. From the beginnings of the country, vast amounts of people from all over the world have descended on the United States of America, creating the modern "melting pot" of the nation.

Early Years
Following the founding of America, immigration was fairly light compared to later years. In 1790, a number of French refugees came to the country following a slave revolt in Haiti. Much of Europe was cut off due the outbreak of the French Revolution and subsequent Napoleonic wars.

Early 1800s
From 1831 to 1840, a huge wave of immigration came in the form of 207,000 Irish. This expanded to nearly two million immigrants from a variety of European countries by 1850. Famine caused a number of Germans, British and French immigrants to journey to the United States.

Late 1800s
During the next period of immigration, the main foreign-born people to enter the U.S. were from Germany and Ireland. During the Civil War, these individuals were given citizenship if the husband or father joined the Union Army. This was accompanied by 900,000 French Canadians who left Quebec by the early 20th century.

Early 1900s
Italian and Scandinavian immigrants were the largest percentage of the population during the early years of the 20th century. It is estimated that 5.3 million Italians and 1.5 million Swedes and Norwegians came to the U.S. during the century.

Late 1900s
The late 20th century saw heavy amounts of immigration from various places throughout the world. Japanese and Vietnamese immigrants were the major components of Asian countries, while many Southern and Eastern Europeans came as well.

Mexico and Latin America
Mexico and Latin American countries, however, provided the overarching majority of immigrants throughout the 1980s and beyond. In 2000, the population was estimated to be at least 35.3 million, with both legal and illegal residents.